In this weblog, a number of the major mistakes made by the US administration after the occupation of Iraq are briefly outlined. The issues involved are so complex that any brief presentation of these issues has to be over-simplistic.

These mistakes not only led to the loss of “the hearts & minds” of the Iraqi people but actually led to “gaining" their animosity and resulted in considerable damage to Iraq and to America.

A lot of innocent blood was unnecessarily spilled!

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Mistake 9 – Using Saddam’s Methods

The examples are numerous…

• Disregard of law and order by the US soldiers on the street to an extent that even Saddam’s boys couldn’t dare to do! [ I personally have witnessed several incidents where, to avoid a traffic jam, military and civilian CPA vehicles crossed the partition dividing a busy road and forced their way against traffic coming from the opposite direction on the other side of the street!]

• Blocking main roads and bridges even more (a lot more!) than before.

• Lies by high-level politicians and military commanders about things large and small [… ranging from claiming that the security situation was under control as far back as May of last year, to claiming that the fierce resistance in Fallujah was put up by foreign terrorists, to claiming that no women and children were killed in the bombing of that unfortunate wedding party…]

• People being arrested and disappearing for long periods without any charges and without informing their families. [Some of these incidents are documented by British and American media!]

• Granting military police ranks at their whim! [I know of at least one case of a police major who was promoted overnight to a two-star general!]

• Fierce and unreasonably disproportionate retaliation. [Fallujah is a grotesque example. Just yesterday, someone was telling me that his cousin’s house was targeted by three rockets after some people had fired some shell at an army base nearby. When the he went to complain about the incident (probably also seeking some compensation), he was promptly arrested!]

• Privileges, favors and contracts to cronies!

• You had to join the Baath party…now, you have to join the party controlling the particular government department in which you sought employment.

• Exemption of their people from any punishment for wrong doings. Saddam actually punished his thugs more frequently!

• “Manufacture” of political arms and organizations very much like what Saddam used to do.

• Promotion, as before, is generally based on “loyalty” instead of competence